Zimmerman Trial Casts Shadow Over Milwaukee Courtroom

The trial of George Zimmerman may have ended, but it’s casting a shadow over a trial in Milwaukee, Wis., where a 76-year-old man is facing charges of gunning down an unarmed 13-year-old black child.

The victims in each case are black teenagers who died of gun wounds. But the facts diverge from there.

Still, the intense national attention around the Zimmerman case came up as a concern during jury selection in Milwaukee.

John Henry Spooner, who is white, is accused of shooting to death his next-door neighbor, Darius Simmons, outside the kid’s home in front of his mother. Prosecutors say he suspected the child of stealing shotguns from his home. Mr. Spooner pleaded not guilty. His attorney doesn’t deny that he shot Simmons, but. . . . .